The Chilean National Copper Smelter Project is a collaborative venture between Chile's state-owned copper company, Codelco, and Glencore. The project is located in Antofagasta.

Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco and Swiss commodity trader and mining company Glencore have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a copper smelting plant project in the Antofagasta region of Chile. This collaboration aims to enhance local copper-processing capacity, with Codelco supplying copper concentrate and Glencore taking the lead in developing a new smelter. Under the agreement, Codelco will supply Glencore with up to 800,000 tons of copper concentrate annually for at least ten years. The two parties may negotiate an extension of the agreement for another ten years. Glencore will build the smelter in Antofagasta, a key mining district in northern Chile, with a planned annual processing capacity of approximately 1.5 million tons of concentrate.

According to Reuters, industry experts say that a project of this scale could require investments ranging from 1.5 billion U.S. dollars (1.38 trillion pesos) to 2 billion U.S. dollars. Glencore will conduct a preliminary feasibility study, and both companies hope to finalize the agreement in the first half of next year. The engineering studies for the feasibility assessment and permitting process are expected to be completed by 2027. If the project moves forward, construction is scheduled to begin in 2030, with operations starting between 2032 and 2033. Codelco stated that Glencore was selected following an open bidding process. This agreement is part of a broader initiative undertaken by Chile to enhance its domestic smelting capacity.

Currently, Chile’s copper smelting capacity accounts for only 6% of the global total, and most of its copper is shipped to China for processing. China possesses half of the world’s smelting capacity, and its highly efficient operations have driven smelting-processing costs below zero, forcing some overseas smelters to shut down. The Chilean government is now seeking to address this imbalance by expanding its local smelting infrastructure. This includes a $1.7 billion smelter modernization project led by the state-owned mining company ENAMI. The agreement expected to be reached between Chile’s national copper company, Codelco, and Glencore is anticipated to help achieve these national goals.

Máximo Pacheco, Chairman of Chile's state-owned Codelco, stated: “We believe this project will benefit not only our company but also the entire industry and the nation.” Meanwhile, Glencore announced plans to resume operations at its Alumbrera copper mine in Catamarca Province, Argentina, by the end of next year. The mine last produced copper in 2018. Glencore indicated that the Alumbrera copper mine is expected to begin production in the first half of 2028. Once fully operational, the Alumbrera mine is projected to produce approximately 75,000 tons of copper, 317,000 ounces of gold, and 1,000 tons of molybdenum over a four-year period. Glencore’s overall strategy is to expand its annual copper production to about 1.6 million tons by 2035, reversing the years-long trend of declining output. The company anticipates that by the end of 2028, its base copper business output will exceed 1 million tons per year, positioning Glencore among the world’s top five copper producers. Glencore forecasts that from 2026 to 2029, its copper-equivalent production will achieve an average annual compound growth rate of 4%, while its copper production itself is expected to grow at an average annual compound rate of 9.4% during the same period. To enhance efficiency, Glencore has cut roughly 1,000 jobs, streamlining its industrial operating structure—a move that echoes similar actions taken by peers such as Rio Tinto and BHP.